Cold Christmas
by Bubblegum Kisses
Summary: SEQUEL TO PSIREN. The boys take a trip to England to investigate some disapearences in the sleepy village of Cold Christmas.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Supernatural so I'm sorry, but I cannot hire you as a script writer...apologies...

**Authors note: **Thanks for reading Psirn! If you didn't read Psiren and came across this on accident, don't worry! You'll pick up the general idea pretty quickly! I also forgot to thank by best buddy AngelKisses87 for all her great supportive words and wonderfulness! We have a couple of colaborations up on her profile so if you fancy taking a look, all comments are adored!

**Cold Christmas**

Bubblegum Thai

**Prologue**

Dawn was beginning to break through the thin, moth-eaten curtains of the dirty motel room. They'd been there three days now, looking for leads into a local case, but were getting nowhere fast. Idly, Dean toyed with the bandage fixed to his neck as he stared at the dancing patterns caused by the net curtains in the morning breeze, barely visible through a gap where the cheap curtains didn't quite close all the way.

He was startled as his mobile phone vibrated on the bedside table in silent mode. He rolled over and grabbed it before it awoke Sam in the next bed. He frowned at the display, not recognising the number,

"Hello?"

"Dean…"

Dean stopped dead at the sound of his name. The voice was soft and a little raspy, as if she'd been crying,

"Lola." He finally answered,

"I need your help."

**To be continued...**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Don't own it.

**Cold Christmas**

Bubblegum Thai

**Chapter One**

As Sam and Dean entered the airport, they were greeted with the busy hubbub of the holiday rush. A large Christmas tree stood in the centre of the main terminal entrance, surrounded by hundreds of people wrapped in heavy coats and scarves as they rushed this way and that, departing and arriving. Families hugged one another in greeting and farewell as trolleys full of suitcases were pushed in every direction. The two brothers looked at one another as they stopped still, feeling out of place until out of the massive throng of people stepped a familiar face framed with soft auburn hair,

"Sam, Dean!" Lola beamed as she hugged the pair in turn before stepping back and holding out a ticket each, "Here are your tickets. Thank you so much for coming with me."

"Uh…Lola…" Dean began awkwardly. He hadn't seen the other hunter since she'd saved their bacon from the Psirens. He could still remember her tear-soaked eyes as she looked him in the face for a split second before turning and leaving, "I don't have a passport. I'm wanted by the police…"

Lola nodded, reaching into the side pocket of her large black holdall. She extended her hands again and gave them a passport each,

"As a general rule, I don't deal in forgeries….however, desperate times and what have you."

"Is yours fake?" Sam asked quietly. Lola shook her head,

"I have no reason to need one."

Dean flipped open his passport to see a rather tired reflection looking back at him,

"You used my mug shot?!" Dean snapped, "Where did you get that from?"

"The police database." Lola said simply with a casual shrug,

"So that's why you told me not to shave…" Dean mused as she began to lead them to check in,

"How are you, Lola?" Sam asked as the duo walked alongside of one another, leaving Dean to hang behind them as they placed their bags one after the other on the belt for the stewardess to label,

"I'm fine. How have you been?" She asked Sam with a smile, "It's good to see you guys are doing so well."

"We never got a chance to thank you back then. We really appreciate your help…without you we'd be…well…" Sam trailed off just as Dean cut in,

"Yeah!" Dean said loudly, "Why'd you take off like that?"

Lola looked Dean square in the eye,

"I think you know why."

The two looked at one another for a short while until Sam cleared his throat. He didn't know what had gone on, if anything, Dean had been as closed as he had been about Jo',

"So why don't you tell us what you need us to come to England with you for?"

Lola reached into her second bag, a canvas shopper slung over her shoulder and handed them some newspaper clippings,

"Two hundred years ago in a village called Essendon, a strange illness struck and the village's thirty-three children all died. All within a week of one another, all over Christmas. There's lots of silly speculation as to how and why this happened, some people say that the church faces the wrong direction and is in fact a house of the devil, and not God. It's been boarded up since the deaths happened."

"It's been boarded up for two hundred years?" Dean asked. Lola nodded,

"There's no need for housing and such in rural parts of England so there are buildings there hundreds of years old just sitting there falling apart." She said seriously, slipping her hands into her tight black jeans pockets, "People say the children died because of a hellish curse placed upon the village by the devil himself for the villagers worshipping God in his church…but, anyways…about a month or so ago children started disappearing from the village and the surrounding towns and villages. Five have gone so far. I have no idea what it is, but I'm determined to find out."

Sam nodded in agreement,

"Sounds like definitely something we should be looking into."

"Definitely." Dean repeated, "I guess we'll find out when we get over there."

"Right." Lola agreed.

- - -

"What ARE you doing?!" Lola snapped as they walked along the gangway towards the waiting airplane, Dean dawdling with his carry-on bag, falling further and further behind Sam and Lola,

"Dean's afraid of flying." Sam whispered in her ear. Lola's expression fell to one of exasperation,

"A big tough man like you afraid of flying?" She asked, placing her hand on her hip, "Come on…all the good seats'll be taken!" She joked, marching back to Dean. She grabbed his hand and tugged him towards the flight, "I'll let you sit next to me if you like. I'll hold your hand and let you sit in the window seat."

"Stop patronising me." Dean muttered, pulling his hand away and stalking on ahead, "I'm fine. Just fine." He said, more to himself than to Lola.

- - -

Sam settled into the seat beside his brother, wearing an amused smile. Dean narrowed his eyes at him before turning his face away to look across the aisle. Lola grinned and waved from her seat next to a young man with black spiky hair. Dean narrowed his eyes as he quietly made a joke about the emergency procedures, to which she giggled to. Sam smacked his arm to bring him back to the real world, Dean glared at him with a chilling look before glancing back across the aisle. He smiled a weak and nervous smile at the female hunter as she watched him carefully. She suddenly pulled out a pen and scribbled a note on her sick bag, folding it with origami-like precision and hurling it across the gap between the seats. Dean caught it and unfolded it with curiosity. He grinned as he read her message:

_Seriously though…are you going to be alright?_

He looked up to meet her worried expression and nodded once. She grinned and returned to chatting with her new friend,

"And if you're not," Sam began, "she was nice enough to give you her sick bag. Romance is still in the air." Sam joked. Dean playfully reached overhead to place a punch on his brother's chest.

- - -

As they pulled up outside of the river-side hotel, the light was already beginning to fade. Lola had pre-booked their rooms so they collected their keys and headed strait up. They walked seemingly for miles on end until they came to a single door,

"Here we are." She said proudly,

"We're sharing a room?" Dean asked, confused,

"You'll see." She said with a grin as she swiped the key card and opened the door into a large living area complete with a huge mini-bar and wide-screen television. Two long plush sofa's lined a low mahogany coffee table and in the far left corner by the window there was a large dining table and three chairs. On either side there was a single door set into the wall, they were open and the trio could clearly see the twin beds in the left-hand room, "The bathrooms are en-suite." She stated as she moved towards her own room, "Let's get washed up and go grab some dinner, yeah?" Before the brothers could answer she'd closed the door on them.

- - -

A short while later, Dean found himself draped on one of the sofas channel searching in his usual plain t-shirt and faded jeans. He glanced up as Lola entered in a pair of low black heels, dark blue jeans and a black jumper. She was fiddling with her handbag before pulling out a hair elastic that held her ponytail in place, so that her auburn ringlets tumbled around her face. She grinned at him, biting her lower lip before turning her face away, embarrassed. Dean being a typical man, didn't seem to notice, he was too busy watching her jeans as she walked to his room to knock for Sam. The shaggy-haired twenty-something appeared, feigning a rather unconvincing yawn,

"I'm really jet lagged…" He murmured, "I'll just give it a miss."  
"Okay…" Lola smiled, "If you get peckish, just call room service, okay?"

Sam nodded in understanding. The truth was, that he wasn't tired, he just wanted to give Dean some space as he desperately wanted the angry older man to be happy. He was in fact going to wait until the duo were out of sight and then head round the corner to McDonalds and spend the entire night researching on his laptop, "Have a nice rest, Sam." Lola called as Dean held the door above her head. Dean sent Sam a wary look before giving a short, sharp wave and following her out of the door whilst pulling on his trademark brown leather jacket.

**To be continued...**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"Where would you like to eat?" Dean asked as they strolled through Oxford Circus, surrounded by bars, clubs and restaurants,

"How about T.G.I.Fridays?" She asked, "It's been awhile since I've seen those stunning red and white stripes!"

"Well that's just not right…" Dean joked,

"I know…they're a total turn on…" She laughed as they walked in and were seated pretty quickly. Ordering a beer and a cocktail they began perusing the menu. Dean was keen to clear the air, uncharacteristically, though every time he looked up to say something, her head was buried behind the laminated book. Finally, after the waitress had been and taken their orders, he opened his mouth to speak,

"Lola, I…"

"Have you ever been to England, Dean?" She cut him off,

"No." He answered quickly, "I've never been out of the States before today."  
"Oh…why's that?"

"Because we spent our entire childhoods travelling from motel to motel hunting."

"Oh right…why was that?"

"Our mother…" Dean began with a sigh, "She was killed by a demon…in Sam's nursery when he was six months old. After that, our dad became obsessed and took us on the road everywhere with him."

Lola frowned with sympathy,

"Oh Dean…that's so sad…" She whispered,

"It is. But it's a fact of life…Sam's all I've got now, and visa versa…"

"Sam's very special." Lola admitted. Dean felt a spark of jealousy and glowered at her across the table. She caught his glare and was quick to correct herself, "Meaning…I sense something very unique about Sam."

"He gets visions." Dean replied dryly, "Death visions."

"He's a psychic?"

Dean nodded slowly,

"And for awhile, he was under the influence of the same demon that killed our parents…he d…" Dean was about to let slip about Sam's death and the circumstances that had brought him back when he quickly stopped himself, "but that's all over now. The war's not over yet…not by a long run, but it was a start."

Lola nodded understandably,

"Sounds like you two are the right pair to have around as back-up."

"Does that mean you're going to hang around this time?"

"…I don't know. You hurt me Dean." She whispered,

"You don't want to be alone like us," Dean murmured,

"You're not alone like me." Lola stated matter-of-factly, "The fact that you said 'alone like us' is a complete contradiction. You can't be alone in a pair. That's just not possible."

Dean sighed heavily,

"This is gonna be an awkward dinner..." He muttered.

- - -

Seven beers, five cocktails, two steak dinners and one gigantic bowl of vanilla ice cream with hot fudge sauce later...

Lola shivered as they stepped out of the restaurant, wrapping her arms around herself, silently wishing she'd worn more than the thick black roll neck sweater that she was sporting. With a click of her heel she stepped out into the busy Oxford Circus, tightening her grip on her own arms across her chest, her auburn ringlets brushing against the middle of her back and draping over her cross arms,

"Lola..."

Lola spun around and broke into a smirk as she saw Dean extendeding his brown leather jacket to her,

"Take it." He said softly as he took a step and handed it to her,

"Thanks...I'd forgotten how cold London is." She mumbled bashfully as they began to walk towards the Thames.

As they walked alongside one another, reaching the river's bank with the luminous moon light glistening on the water's glassy surface, their breath misting before their eyes, they stopped to look out across to the other side of the river towards the London Eye towering above the rest of the skyline. Lola became aware that Dean was no longer looking at the architecture of the opposite bank, but had now turned and was leaning against the brick wall casually, watching her face. She finally turned to meet his gaze and giggled,

"You've got chocolate on your lip." She mumbled as she reached out and gently touched his plump bottom lip with it's tiny smear of chocolate sauce. Dean chuckled,

"You can't take me anywhere..." He admitted,

"Shame...I'd like to..." She stated as she turned and sauntered away a little, clicking along in her heels with his heavy, worn jacket draped about her shoulders,

"What I mean is..." He continued, grabbing her hand and spinning her around so that she had to grab his shoulders to stop herself from knocking them both over. With a slight hesitation Dean lowered his head and placed a soft kiss on her lips. He wanted to leave his face so close to hers but she pulled away, taking a step back from him, but her fingers were still intertwined with his,

"Dean...please...don't..."

"What? Why" He asked, confused,

"Please...I told you...last time...you really hurt me. I hate to say it, but you broke my heart. I guess I'm just a stupid little girl that falls for the first man that comes along and looks at her the way you look at me. But I'm not prepared to get my heart broken again. The reason I asked you guys was because there was no one else. No one else that worked as well together as the Winchester brothers. I didn't want this to happen."

"Lola I'm sorry..." He sighed. She smiled reassuringly,

"Let's get back to the hotel..." She mumbled, holding her head slightly, "We need to start researching...though...reading could be an issue...considering how many drinks we've had..." She giggled as she wrapped an arm around Dean's waist more for her support than his. He looked down at her and smiled tenderly,

"You know...I never got to tell you earlier. You look amazing."

"Stop trying to get into my bedroom Dean Winchester! I know that's what you're after!" She laughed as they staggered up the steps of the hotel.

- - -

With a drunken laugh the duo collapsed onto Lola's bed, giggling as they fought in a tickling war against one another. Somehow, Dean managed to roll on top of her (admittedly, feeling a little woozy after six beers). Smirking he leant down for another kiss, heart pounding as he waited for rejection, though it never came. Hesitantly he pulled back to check her face. She smirked, grabbing his t-shirt and pulling him back down.

- - -

The next morning, Dean awoke in Lola's bed with a groan, his head pounding. He vaguely remembered sharing a bottle of wine with Lola once they'd arrived back at the hotel. He looked quickly to the spot in the bed beside him to find it empty and then down at his legs. He threw his head back onto the pillow with a huff,

"Damn..." He muttered, "I'm still wearing pants..."

With another groan he rolled onto the floor, dragging himself up, wondering what kind of night he'd had that had resulted in him wearing only his jeans-no shirt or socks. He staggered to the door and opened it to the living suite that divided his and Sam's room from that of the female hunter. He smirked seeing his little brother standing a metre away from Lola at the central table by the window. Both were leaning over, examining papers that were spread about. With a yawn and a stretch, Dean padded over to the duo, coming to a stop between the two of them. Craftily he placed his hand on the table top, on the other side of Lola so that his bare arm stretched across her back. She glanced at him with a smirk before looking back down at the papers and chatting away with Sam. Sam looked between the pair of them and smirked also,

"I'm just gonna...yeah...disappear for a few minutes..." He said, pointing behind him before wandering off.

Lola turned to regard Dean fully now that Sam had departed. The elder whistled, looking her up and down in a pair of tight black shorts and even tighter white t-shirt,

"Those are the smallest shorts I have ever seen…" He mumbled, leaning close. She hesitantly moved her face away from his. He gently laced his fingers with hers and tugged her back in the direction he'd come from, "I think we should go back this way for a little while…"

"Dean…" She began, shaking her head and stepping back and away from him, "I meant what I said last night…I don't want this. I don't want to get hurt and I don't want you to get hurt. We're not like normal people. We know what's really out there. We are dangerous for each other."

Dean stared at her, pursing his lips whilst she spoke. When she finished he nodded understandably,

"Just friends?" He asked. She sighed heavily,

"Just friends." She agreed.

Dean smiled as she took another step away, towards her room,

"That's fine…" He admitted, "Though…I hope you don't mind…I will be checking out your ass at every opportunity."

Lola shrugged,

"That's fine." She laughed before disappearing into her bedroom. Dean swung his arms back and forth, looking around the room awkwardly before retreating to his un-touched bed. He shut the door behind him and collapsed onto the bed with a growl. Sam frowned at him from his bed,

"Dude…what did you say?"

"Me?! I didn't say anything! She made it clear that she was no longer interested!"

"I heard you guys come in last night…not to mention you spent the whole night in her bed. I was so sure that you'd gotten, or were going to get laid!" Sam snorted, "Is she a tease or something?"

"She must be punishing me…" Dean muttered, burying his face in a pillow, "Man…"

"Punishing you? For what?!"

"Uhm…" Dean trailed off guiltily, "I may…or may not have put a gun to her head…" He admitted quietly,

"You what?!"

"I thought she was Psiren!" He exclaimed,

"Oh Dean…" Sam huffed,

"And possibly…before that…I maybe have pushed her onto the floor and left her there…and then…maybe…told her to get out of my life…" He cringed. Sam shook his head,

"You're right…she IS punishing you! And you deserve it to. No wonder she didn't want to ask for our help…or hang around at the bay!"

Dean flashed Sam his guilty and uneasy smile.

- - -

After a long day of research, Lola finally stretched her arms above her head with a loud yawn,

"Dinner time…" She mumbled. Dean threw his pen down onto the table,

"I'm starving." He announced,

"You'd better be coming today, Sam." Lola said seriously. Sam nodded, standing up to stretch his legs,

"So the train tickets are booked for tomorrow morning, right?"

"Right." Lola agreed with a nod before looking up at the window, "Oh no…" She whined, "It's raining…" She sighed, walking towards her room. She emerged a few seconds later in the same black jeans she'd retreated in, but with a tight white hooded sweatshirt beneath an equally tight black fitted leather jacket. She slipped on one shoe, an all-black skater trainer, followed by the second, staggering against Sam a little as she lost her balance. Sam caught her, placing his arms around her torso to stop her falling into a pile on the carpet. Dean glowered as he moved towards the door,

"If you two have quite finished…" He muttered, grabbing the door handle. The two soon followed after him.

- - -

The trio found themselves in a bar in Soho, clinking their fourth beer bottles together with a cheer. A few of the other patrons turned and stared at the Americans as they fell around their table laughing away,

"Dean…I think that one's giving you the eye!" Lola snorted, pointing at a man clad in all black leather with a thin, wispy ginger and grey beard. Dean turned and looked just as he looked over,

"Hey there…" Dean grinned, holding up his beer to the man who didn't look too impressed as he turned away and walked off. The trio giggled again until a man of about six foot approached their table. He had deep brown eyes and a pearly white smile, his dirty blonde hair falling into his eyes with the 'just out of bed' look. He smiled at Lola,

"Hi, I'm Ben. Would you mind if I bought you a drink?"

Lola smirked,

"Sure…" She said, taking the last sip of her beer before standing and following him through the bar. Before disappearing into the crowd by the bar, she glanced back, hoping to see Dean watching after her, but he wasn't, he'd found someone else to look at whilst he and Sam finished their beers.

She shortly returned with a huff,

"What's up?" Sam asked with a frown. Dean had disappeared at that point,

"He asked me strait out if I'd go back to his hotel with him." She said simply, "And although, yes, I am that kind of girl and I have very little moral value to speak of. I don't just hand it out to anyone!" She smirked. Sam stared at her blankly before nodding slightly,

"Right…" He finally answered, glancing around quickly, "I need to talk to you before Dean gets back."

"Okay. What?"

"What is going on with the pair of you? You know what he's like, so he's not going to tell me and I'm not going to be able to take the tension for much longer!" He exclaimed. Lola smiled weakly,

"I want you to know that I care very deeply for your brother, and have since the first time I ever met him." She sighed, "However, I don't want either one of us to get hurt anymore than we already have. It would be a very, very bad idea. He already has you, and I'd hate to come between that AND if, for whatever reason, someone wanted to get to him. They'd have you and me. It's better I just stay away. People I love end up dead. I haven't been in a relationship in a long time. As a hunter I just can't, you must be able to understand that…" She whispered, reaching forwards and placing her hand over Sam's, "The demon that killed my grandparents…if it ever got wind of how much Dean means to me then he'd be in trouble. I can't bear the thought of him…" She trailed off, "Their faces…" Her voice cracked and suddenly she stood, "Not Dean. Never." She whispered, "The satisfaction it would have to not only take someone I love, but another hunter?"

"Lola…I'm sorry…" Sam sighed, "I just thought you were playing with him."

Lola shook her head,

"Seriously, I wouldn't…though perhaps I am punishing him a tiny bit for what happened in California."

Sam grinned,

"Fair enough."

"What's happening?" Dean asked casually as he approached with two beers, "I didn't know you'd returned." He said almost bitterly, "Your pretty boy not so prince charming. Here. Have mine. I'll go stand in line for another twenty minutes." He muttered, placing the beer in front of Lola who eased back into her seat. Sam locked eyes with her and smiled,

"He cares." He said sincerely.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

The trio sat in silence as the train rocked from side to side. Sam had borrowed Lola's ipod and was reading a book on the haunted history of Hertfordshire whilst Dean sat staring at Lola and Lola sat staring out of the window. She turned and met his gaze with a smile,

"You okay?" She mouthed. He smiled slightly, leaning forwards towards her. He motioned with his fingers for her to do the same. She did until their faces practically touched,

"I was just thinking how big of a jerk I was back in California." He said softly, "I uh…didn't mean to treat you that way."

Lola quickly glanced at Sam who was engrossed in his book and sighed,

"I know, Dean. Don't worry about it." She said before sitting back up strait and returning to staring out of the window.

- - -

"Where are we?" Dean asked as they stood by a roadside,

"We are…" Lola trailed off, "Okay…I don't know where we are…" She sighed, dropping her head in shame. Sam looked around. They were standing outside of an old boarded up building with a blue Victorian sign reading 'Braughing Station'. A quick peek around the back of the building to the platform soon confirmed that the line hadn't been used in decades as the rails were barely there from weathering, overgrowth and the decay of the time, "We've got to wait for another bus."

"How long do we have to wait?"

"Uh…" Lola looked at her watch, "Thirty minutes?"

Both boys groaned,

"I miss my car…" Dean muttered,

"At least it's not raining…?" Lola offered half-heartedly.

As if by magic Lola felt something cold on her cheek, followed by another and another,

"It's snowing." She said dryly,

"Great." Both boys answered in an equally enthusiastic tone.

- - -

It was becoming evening when the little bus trundled along over the hill and plunged into the valley where the village of Cold Christmas was nestled. As they approached, the huge steeple of the church towered over them in the darkness.

In the main street there was a scattering of small old stone houses, all warm and inviting on the outside. They made their way to the pub, the Devil's Tooth, which looked pretty empty. Lola saw the sign and grinned, looking round at the others,

"This sounds like a good place to start."

They walked in and the five guests and two barmaids fell silent as the door closed behind them, Lola shivered as they made their way across the room,

"Hi there!" She beamed, "Is there an inn or anything we could maybe stay at around here? A motel or something?"

"There's nothing like that here. You'll have to go to Thunderidge for that." Replied an older, plump barmaid as she stacked glasses on a wooden shelf,

"How far's Thunderidge?"

"About five miles."

"That's not so bad." Lola admitted, "Is there a bus?"

The barmaid laughed,

"There'll be no buses until Monday now."

"Right…well…" Lola was beginning to lose her patience with that woman, "Can you perhaps call us a taxi then?"

"Alright…" She remarked frostily before turning away. Lola turned back to Sam and Dean, seeing that the entire pub were all still staring at them, "Okay…I'm officially freaked." She said low so that only her two partners could hear.

They nodded in agreement before Dean noticed the second barmaid was rather attractive. Tall and thin with long thick blonde hair and large green eyes. She sauntered over and leant on the bar with a grin,

"Hi…" He drawled, "Can I please have a beer?"

"Sure."

"That girl looks like Jo'." Lola whispered to Sam, "You know, from the Roadhouse."

"Yes, she does." Sam agreed, rolling his eyes at his brother as he proceeded to chat the barmaid up.

As the older barmaid slowly made her way back towards them, Lola snickered,

"You could try your luck, Sammy." She laughed. The taller man grabbed her shoulders and shook her gently making her cry out a little in shock. Dean quickly looked round and scowled before returning to the barmaid,

"Your taxi's on it's way." The barmaid said grumpily, "It'll pick you up from the post office."  
"Where's that?" Sam asked. The barmaid simply pointed to the right. She stared at the duo expectantly until they got the hint, "C'mon Dean!" Sam called as Dean was slipping his number to the blonde. Lola and Sam were already walking out of the door when he finally caught up.

- - -

Standing outside, the snow was really coming down heavily now and Lola shivered, even beneath her heavy black woollen coat,

"Your lips are blue." Sam said with concern,

"Oh yeah…I forgot…your from California…you're not used to the cold." Dean said as he watched her shiver,

"I come from North California you idiot." Lola shot back, "We have mountains. It's not that…I just…I don't feel so good."

"Perhaps you should go to bed as soon as we get in."

"I think I will."

- - -

When they arrived at the bed and breakfast in Thunderidge, they were horrified to discover that they'd have to share one room between the three of them,

"It is Christmas." The woman at the desk had said seriously, "People come from miles around to spend Christmas somewhere nice like this."  
"Riiiiight…" Sam drawled, taking the key and trudging up the wooden stairs, the other two in toe.

- - -

The next morning, Lola awoke, head spinning in an overly-stuffed bed. She looked over at Dean who was playing with his gun and Sam who was already tapping away on his laptop,

"What time is it?"

"Eleven." Sam answered,  
"Why didn't you wake me?"

"You looked kinda cute." He laughed,

"You needed your rest." Dean chimed in, "Though can we get breakfast now?"

- - -

On their way down the wooden staircase, they passed another guest. He was in his twenties with shaggy dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. He was tall with a toned chest and arms hidden beneath a long-sleeved baseball shirt. He smiled as he walked passed Lola, who turned to look at him as he did. He turned and stopped,

"I'm sorry…you look so familiar…do I know you?"

"Oh brother…" Dean rolled his eyes, "That's the worst pick-up line I've ever heard.." He muttered to Sam who nodded in agreement as Lola took a step up and the new guy took a step down,

"No…I don't believe so…"

"Wow…you're American…" He drawled, "God that is…really quite sexy."

Lola smirked,

"Lola." She said, extending her hand,

"Brett."

"So what brings the lovely American Lola here?" Brett asked as he took another step down to her level,

"School." Lola answered quickly, "We're here researching architecture for college. We're students at the University of Michigan."

"Fair enough…" Brett said with a shrug, "I'm here visiting some relatives."

"Okay…that's it…I'm starving…Lola…we're going to grab some breakfast." Dean called,

"Okay! I'll catch up with you two in a second."

As Dean and Sam disappeared, Brett looked at them with a frown,

"Looks like your boyfriend's got no patience."

"He's not my boyfriend." Lola admitted, "They're not like that."

"Oh. OH." Brett said with a smirk, "I get you. That's cool! Uhm, listen…it's raining today and there're no buses running so you're pretty much stuck here. I was wondering if you wanted to take a walk with me maybe?"

"In the rain?"

"You're not afraid of a little water, are you Lola?"

Lola smirked,

"I'm not afraid of anything."  
"Great! So is that a yes?"

Lola frowned slightly,

"I don't think so…I just…you know…I should stick with my friends."  
"Why? They're probably dying for some alone time!"

Lola burst into laughter,

"They're brothers!" She giggled,

"Oh…I…oh…I'm sorry…I thought you meant that they were…y'know…"  
"They're not gay. They're brothers." Lola replied dryly, "And I know that Dean, the grumpy one, is definitely strait…oh my God…why am I having this conversation with you?"

"So he is your boyfriend?"

"No…he's not my boyfriend. I just know." Lola sighed, "It was very nice of you to invite me. Maybe another day?" She said with a shrug, "Bye…"

- - -

"Very strange…" Lola breathed as she sat beside Sam at the breakfast table,

"I'm surprised you made it to breakfast with a pick up line like that." Dean teased, smirking at Sam who struggled not to laugh and choke on his toast. Lola rolled her eyes,

"At least he had a pick up line rather than just being cold and closed off. I noticed, Dean that you had plenty of pick-up lines in that bar the other night for all the blondes. Hypocrisy is not attractive." She remarked. Sam's eyebrows shot up as he stared at his plate, feeling really awkward. Dean was in the middle of chewing when he suddenly fumed;

"What's THAT supposed to mean?" He asked, his mouth full of food,

"Ugh…" Lola frowned, "Speaking of being unattractive…" She muttered, "Could you please finish chewing before you talk."  
"Unattractive?" Dean repeated, swallowing and standing up angrily, "I wasn't so unattractive the other night! You were all over me!"

"Hello! I was drunk!" She exclaimed as she stood up also. Sam sunk into his seat with shame. People were beginning to stare at the warring pair of hunters,

"Yeah…I noticed…" Dean laughed sarcastically, "You've said enough times what a mistake it was and how you're afraid I'm going to hurt you…blah blah blah…" He muttered, rolling his eyes, "Why'd you bother calling us to help you on this job? You're not interested in us helping you."

"No. I'm just not interested in you and you can't handle that, can you? Not getting what you want?"

"Ugh! You're so irritating! God…it's like working with a child." Dean growled, sinking back into his seat,

"Oh really? Well I'll tell you the feelings mutual." She snapped, dropping back into her seat also, "Like working with a stubborn, spoilt little brat…"

"Oh kay!" Sam laughed nervously, "Well I'm done we should get moving and talk to the locals."

Lola rose from her chair, her face aflush with irritation as she left the restaurant ahead of the boys. Dean pushed back from the table, throwing his napkin down onto his polished plate he stormed out and into the cold air of the street. Sam followed with a sigh and a shake of his head, this was going to be a long day.

Sam sighed as the two stood with their backs turned to each,

"So…" Sam began, "Lola. Where are we headed first?"

"Yeah Lola," Dean began irritably, "this is YOUR hunt, after all. Tell us what to do oh princess Lola!"

Lola rolled her eyes before turning to Sam,

"Let's head back to the church."

"Right." Sam agreed, tightening his beige jacket around his body in the cold, "We should take a look inside the church, get an EMP reading."

Lola nodded in agreement,

"Yes. Definitely." As she put up an umbrella, stepping out of the doorway and into the street. She turned and looked back at the duo, "Maybe we should've rented a car…" She mumbled thoughtfully before suddenly being drenched in the backsplash as a large four by four sped passed. Sam and Dean stifled their laughter as she stood in shock, shaking from the cold. After opening and closing her mouth several times in horror, she was distracted by someone jogging up to her and grabbing her arm,

"American Lola!" Exclaimed Brett, "I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there! I…uh…oh God…I'm really sorry." He admitted. Dean finally let out a loud bark of a laugh,

"The look on your face…" He chuckled, shaking his head, "It's only a bit of water."

"Its cold…" She shivered,

"I'm so sorry, Lola…uhm…can I maybe give you guys a lift?"

"Actually, we could do with a lift to Cold Christmas." Sam said. Brett nodded,

"Of course. Anything!"

"Great." Lola muttered as she stalked towards Brett's car, "Let's just…do this."

The three men followed, quietly snickering amongst themselves as Lola let her umbrella down, the back of her hair plastered to her head and neck, absolutely drenched.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

"So what're you guys doing at the church?" Brett asked as they drove along the narrow country roads,

"We're going to look at the architecture." Sam answered, "For our project."

"Sounds cool." Brett said with a nod, "So where are you all from?"

"All over." Lola answered,

"You said you all attend the University of Michigan, did you all grow up in Michigan?"

"No…actually, we come from Kansas." Dean remarked,

"Ahh…like Dorothy."

"…something like that." Dean muttered,

"You from Kansas too, Lola?"

"No. I'm from California."

"Ahh…where all the hot girls are from."

Lola chose not to answer as Dean spluttered a laugh. She shifted awkwardly in her seat before the car fell into silence. Brett cleared his throat before starting up again,

"Your necklace…" He began, "it's very nice."

Lola lifted her hand and gently touched the white gold angel wings around her neck with her fingertips,

"Thanks. My father gave it to me."

"Awh. Are you his angel?"

"I was." She replied quietly, making a point of turning to look out of the window to end the conversation.

- - -

The trio stood in the shadow of the church, staring up at the round stained glass window,

"Well the rumour about the church facing the wrong direction was accurate." Sam sighed,

"Yeah…creepy…" Dean murmured as he moved towards the boarded up door, the wood rotten and flaking under the elements. He reached out and gripped one of the boards, ripping it off of the frame. It was only a few seconds before Sam and Lola were at his sides, helping him to get to the door.

With a pile of wood at their feet, Dean motioned for the other two to step back before he lifted a foot and brought it down roughly against the old door that buckled under his strength. Sam flicked on his flashlight and entered tentatively, coughing on the dust and mould that had exploded in a cloud as the door had fallen off of it's hinges. Lola wrapped her arms tightly around herself as she followed Sam in, shining her own flashlight around to peer up into the rafters,

"We need to find those children…perhaps we should interview their parents…?" Lola suggested,

"I think they've probably had enough of talking…it's almost Christmas and their kids are missing…I know we need to get as much information as possible, but I think we should leave that as a last resort." Sam answered. Lola nodded,

"You're right."

Dean held out his walkman turned EMP detector ahead of him, the red lights remaining dull,

"Well as creepy as this church is…I'm not getting anything on here."

"Unless it only takes place at night?" Sam asked. Dean shrugged,

"Looks like we'll be hanging around for awhile then huh?"

"Let's check out the bone yard…" Lola murmured, turning back to the doorway. As she did, the dull sunlight from outside was blocked by the silhouette of a figure. Lola jumped backwards slightly, grabbing Sam's arm tightly,

"Man…you guys sure are desperate to check out this architecture, huh?"

"Brett…" Lola breathed, placing a hand to her forehead in relief,

"We uh…found the door kicked in so we figured we'd take a look inside." Sam called out,

"Really? Funny I could've sworn that I saw Dean doing the kicking."

"You were watching us?" Lola asked, raising an eyebrow as she stalked up to him irritably,

"Woah! Hold it right there little lady!" Brett laughed as he pulled a small silver hand gun out on the American, "Let's not get carried away here…"

Lola placed her hands in the air half heartedly,

"You shouldn't pull a gun on a lady…it's very rude."

"Yeah," Dean agreed as he appeared from the shadows beside Brett, his own gun to the side of Brett's head, "especially she's not alone."

Lola snatched the gun from Brett and motioned for him to lead them back through the open door.

- - -

"You wanna tell us why you were spying on us?" Dean asked as the three surrounded Brett. Brett simply smirked,

"Because it's my job."

"What are you? Some lame ass caretaker?"

"No." Brett snapped, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try us." Lola said simply,

"I'm a ghost hunter."

"You're a hunter?" Lola asked,

"Yes…" Brett answered carefully, "You're taking this…pretty well, considering."

Dean lowered his gun to his side while raising his eyes to the sky with exasperation,

"Great…just what we need…" He muttered,

"I'm here investigating the disappearance of some children in the local area."

"Yeah…us too." Sam finally spoke,

"You three are hunters."

"Yep." Lola nodded with a smile, "So I guess we're all on the same side."

"Does that mean I can have my gun back now?"

Lola looked down at Brett's gun in her hand and sighed heavily,

"Sorry about that…" She cringed,

"No problem just uh…no more guns to my head, alright Dean?"

"…whatever…"

"He's quite the grumpy one, huh?"

"Yes." Lola replied icily, "He's definitely got an attitude problem."

"I'm standing right here. Do you think you could at least wait until I disappear?" Dean fumed, "I'm going over here…you three…continue to talk about me!"

Sam rolled his eyes,

"Don't be a jerk…" He muttered as he followed after Dean, leaving Lola and Brett standing awkwardly,

"What brought three yanks all the way here? Didn't you think we could handle it?"

"It was more of a personal interest on my part." Lola admitted, "I asked the two of them to come with."

"Bet you're regretting that decision." Brett laughed,

"Oh you have no idea…" She sighed, shaking her head as she followed the direction Sam and Dean had wandered off in. They were standing amongst a large gathering of gravestones,

"I guess these are the children that died. All fifteen of them from 1810." Sam said as he scanned the stone's surfaces seriously, "We need to find out if anyone saw anything when the other children went missing."

"You haven't even researched witness accounts? What the hell do you yanks do in your own country?" Brett laughed which caused Lola to scowl. She crossed her arms over her chest,

"We only arrived yesterday."

"Well thank heavens…us backward English folk can't survive without you Americans coming in on your white horses, guns pointed at everyone, to save the day."

"Man…I should've just shot him." Dean muttered to Sam who chuckled, "Shoot first…ask questions later…"

"I think Lola will save you the trouble." Sam answered as Lola's scowl deepened. Her back straitened as she dug her hands into her back pockets,

"Well…did you check the witness reports?"

"I did…as a matter of fact."

"…" Lola waited for a reply. She blinked, "Well?"

"Doors and windows were unlocked from the inside, bedrooms were undisturbed. It was like the children had let themselves out."

Lola frowned,

"That's…a little worrying." She sighed,

"Always at night…in the middle of the night and it was always houses that back onto, or were near large wooden areas. Now, they've searched all the surrounding forest areas and there's not a trace…all except in one case."

"What did they find?" Sam asked,

"Footprints. Lots of them in a clearing."

"Lots of footprints." Dean repeated, "They could be anyone's."

"Lots of children's footprints. Too many to be made by any of the local children. There aren't that many children living in these villages because of schools and the like."

"What do you think?" Lola asked Dean,

"From that, I think it's safe to say we're dealing with some spirits."

Lola went very pale,

"I guess we'll be burning the bones tonight." She said sadly,

"We don't have a choice."

"What about the children?" Lola asked Brett, "The five missing children."

Brett sighed,

"If death had been caused by a spirit…then surely bodies would've been found. Spirits don't tend to hide the corpses of people they've killed."

"Exactly." Lola agreed, "So they must be somewhere that was integral to the deaths of the children two hundred years ago."

"Like what?" Dean asked, "I thought you said that they died of an illness."

"People at the time said it was a satanic curse." Brett said knowledgably, "Linked to the church." He said, pointing behind him to the large stone building that towered above them, "If we're going to burn the bones…we should get started…we've got a lot of bodies to unearth."

"Why don't two of us start digging and the other two check the church again. Those children have got to be in there somewhere." Sam suggested. Lola shot her arm up quickly,

"I volunteer for the creepy, backwards hell house!" She said with a grin, "I'm not big on…rotten corpses of…children…" She mumbled, a little ashamed. Dean rolled his eyes,

"And with those arms we'd be here all week anyway. I'll do the digging. Sammy, you go with Lola."

"I'll help you." Brett told Dean,

"You can keep watch."

"But it'll take you hours to dig all those holes alone."

"I'll survive."

Sam and Lola exchanged exasperated looks before trudging back into the church,

"Sooooo…" Sam began casually, "he's cute."

"I hadn't noticed." Lola mumbled, shining her light around the old, rotten church, "I honestly haven't…why'd you bring that up?"

"I…don't actually know…though now I see where Dean gets off having so much fun in winding me up."

Lola smirked,

"Well you might as well pack it in now…there's nothing that I could possibly…" She trailed off, "I hate to sound cliché…but did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Sam asked with a frown,

"I thought I heard…children laughing…" She mumbled as she heard the sound again, closer this time, "I'm a little…freaked out by this, Sam."

Sam nodded,

"I agree with you." He said, pulling the shot gun out from under his arm, steadying it, he shined his flashlight around cautiously as the front door to the church slammed shut. The duo exchanged concerned looks as they moved slowly back towards it, to find that it had somehow sealed itself,

"Great…now what…?" Lola breathed as the giggling voice grew louder and closer.

- - -

Brett returned from his car, carrying two spades. He extended one to Dean who snatched it from him grumpily before beginning to dig at the first grave. Brett was slightly taken aback but shrugged it off, joining Dean in the digging. The American looked up at him and huffed, shaking his head,

"I told you to keep an eye out."

"We're in the grave yard of a church that has been abandoned for two hundred years, that's a mile outside of a village with a population of two dozen…who exactly do you think I'd be looking out for?" Brett snapped back. Dean rolled his eyes,

"You never know…"

"Dude…what is your problem?!"  
"You would not believe how many times I hear that…" Dean muttered, throwing himself back into the digging,

"Oh…I bet I would…" Brett replied, "Seriously though," He continued, "Whatever you've got wedged up your behind, pull it out because you're acting like a spoilt child rather than a hunter and you could get the rest of us killed with an attitude that stinks like yours does. I mean, I know you don't give a damn about me but I'm sure you don't want to endanger the life of your brother or Lola."

Dean chose not to reply. Instead he kept digging until the tip of his spade hit the top of the first coffin,

"Okay…I got one…" He said, hopping out of the hole, moving on to the next grave, "Fourteen to go…" He muttered,

"I want to ask you something," Brett began, straitening his back,

"What?" Dean snapped,

"This might sound a little forward, but is there anything going on between you and Lola?"

"…" Dean shrugged, "There may be." He answered carefully,

"Oh…I just, was wondering because she's a really lovely girl…but I don't want to move in on another guys territory…if you know what I mean."

Dean turned his back on Brett and grit his teeth in irritation,

"Yeah…I get you…" He replied, beginning to dig, "Do whatever you want."

"So you and her…you're not."

"Do whatever you want." Dean repeated, louder and slower to symbolise that he wanted to end the conversation now. Brett reached the coffin of his grave and jumped out, placing one hand on the grass, jumping out of the hole with stealth and grace,

"I think I will." He remarked smugly as he wandered passed Dean, dragging his spade behind him, "I mean…" Brett continued with a smirk, "It's not very often a girl like her walks into your life, eh? I mean…a hunter…and a hot one at that…" He continued to ramble on, more for the fact that he could see it was rubbing Dean up the wrong way,

"Yeah…well…" Dean grumbled,

"I'm sure I can convince her to come out with me tonight…what kind of food do you think she likes?"

"I honestly couldn't care…" Dean mumbled, rolling his eyes. Brett smirked, watching Dean become more and more flustered.

- - -

Sam grabbed Lola's hand and lead her through the dark and dusty church towards the alter,

"I think it's time to leave." He said sternly to the younger girl as she squeezed his hand,

"This is probably a little late in the day to be telling you this…but I'm kinda scared of the dark." Lola admitted quietly,

"You're a demon hunter and you're afraid of the dark?" Sam asked, arching an eyebrow. Lola nodded,

"Yes. Yes I am." She replied with a weak smile. Sam rolled his eyes, "Oh my God! You looked just like Dean when you did that!" She joked, though Sam was more worried about getting out of the church from hell. She cleared her throat as they headed through the back of the church which had remained untouched for centuries, the giggling voice following them as they did,

"Lola…" Called out a soft, low voice, "Lola…come play with us…"

Lola spun around, her eyes scanning the darkness in vain,

"Sam…" She mumbled, shaking Sam's jacket sleeve, "Did you hear that…?"

"No." Sam replied with a frown, "What was it?"

"Lola…" Called the voice again followed by a giggle,

"Voices…"

"Come play with us Lola! We're so bored here all by ourselves…so lonely…come play with us Lola!"

Lola let go of Sam, shining her flashlight around the rafters of the church as she stepped cautiously out into the main church hall,

"Lola…I think I feel a breeze…" Sam mumbled, glancing over his shoulder to tell her to follow him, "Lola?" He asked, flashing his torch around the darkness, "Lola!" He called again but to no answer.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Dean was on his fourth grave and despite the freezing cold temperature, sweat poured down his forehead as he rolled his sleeves up, his jacket tossed to the side long ago. Footsteps thumped up behind him and suddenly, a cloud of dirt rained upon him from above,

"Dean…" Sam panted breathlessly,

"Sammy!" Dean greeted, thankful to see his brother and not Brett standing over him to continue telling him of his plans to woo Lola. Dean smirked, "Find anything?"

"Uh…we have a small problem…" Sam mumbled, reaching down a hand to help his older brother out of the hole,

"What?" Dean asked with a frown, drawing up against Sam,

"It's Lola."

"What's she done now?"

"I lost her."

"You lost her…?" Dean repeated carefully, "You lost Lola?"

"She disappeared inside the church!" Sam exclaimed, running his hands through his hair in a panic, "She said she heard voices and then I turned around and she was gone. I couldn't find her anywhere…"

"You," He said, thrusting the spade into Sam's chest, "keep digging. I'll go back inside and find her."

"Dean…" Sam called after his brother,

"Yeah?" Dean asked, turning but continuing to walk, so that he trod backwards,

"Shouldn't we tell Brett?"

"Pfft." Dean spluttered, throwing his arms up into the air, "Forget him…" He chuckled before turning and jogging back the way Sam had come.

- - -

As Dean stepped into the abandoned church, it flooded with the light from his torch, the bright yellowish white filling each corner of the square room. With a heavy sigh, he looked around, not quite knowing where to begin, though he felt a rising panic within the pit of his stomach. He scanned every crevice before spying a small, thin hole in the far corner of the church. He moved towards it cautiously, running his fingers over the warped wood that lined the gap. Upon closer inspection, he realised that it had once been a small doorway. Gripping the edge firmly, he ripped the door open with a heave before ducking to follow a small, narrow staircase down to the basement, bellow the church. He passed the furnace, standing eerily open like a gaping mouth, decorated with awnings of spider webs that stretched across the low corridor. He followed it until he reached another doorway. Turning the handle, he was surprised to find it easy to open. As the door swung open ahead of him, he was stunned at what sat before him. The small, rectangular room was filled with toys. Wooden soldiers in red coats, shaggy toy horse heads a top of sticks for riding, spinning tops and wooden rocking horses lay scattered, but what lay amongst them was the most shocking thing.

Five children, all about the age of seven lay asleep amongst the old toys in their brightly painted colours, still as pristine as they had been the day they were made. Dean looked behind him quickly before edging into the room, moving to gently shake the first child, who stirred slightly, but did not wake. He gently shook another, and another but to no avail, they remained in a deep sleep.

Quickly, Dean ran back to tell Sam and, hesitantly, Brett, who, between the three of them, brought the five missing children back up to ground level and called the emergency services.

- - -

Hours later, as the last of the police cars pulled away for the night, Dean straitened, exchanging looks with Sam,

"We need to find Lola." Sam said firmly to which his brother nodded in agreement, cocking his gun slightly,

"If the children were in the grounds, then she has to be too." Brett said knowledgably, "The light is fading so we'll have to work fast. Why Don't you two continue digging…I'll find her."

"Yeah…" Dean muttered, "I think not. How about you keep digging and we'll look…or is that too much for you to handle?"

Brett narrowed his eyes,

"It was you two bone heads that lost her in the first place." He griped, "She needs a real man to look after her."

"Dude…did you just say 'real man'?" Dean asked, quirking an eyebrow in surprise,

"Okay…you know what…this macho show down is not going to find our friend so let's just focus on burning the bones and finding Lola, okay?"

"Right…" Dean mumbled, "Sam, keep digging."

Sam nodded, picking up the spade again and returning to digging up the graves which was proving tiring. Dean stared at Brett with a sneer,

"Why don't you help?" He suggested. Brett rolled his eyes,

"You've got serious control issues." Brett remarked, "Has anyone ever told you that?"

"Several people." Dean remarked, "But I make a point not to listen to every idiot that comes along."

"Does that come from ignoring your own advice?" Brett quipped,

"GUYS!" Sam yelled, "Focus!"

- - -

Darkness rolled in quickly and Brett was forced to turn on the head lights of his four by four onto the graveyard to aid the winter moonlight. Dean returned, looking defeated,

"I've searched the entire church. She's not in there." He told Sam,

"Well maybe you didn't look hard enough." Brett insisted, climbing out of a grave, "Have you tried looking in the crypts in the churchyard. If I was going to hide a girl, I'd hide her in a crypt."

"I knew there was something creepy about you…" Dean observed, his eyebrows raised, handing Brett his flashlight, "Here. You think that you'd find her in a split second…go ahead…find her…I'm sure she'll be so thankful that an amazing hunter like you Brett has found her." He sneered, turning back to the graves.

As Brett wandered off, Sam turned to glower at Dean,

"Do you think you could pull your head together for once in your life and forget about your hyper-competitive attitude?"

"What?" Dean asked,

"We've got a job to do." Sam reminded Dean, who just rolled his eyes. The two continued digging until the soft giggling drifted over them. Sam froze, looking up, "That's what I heard just before Lola disappeared."

Dean hopped out of the grave and onto the ground. Reaching down a hand to help Sam, he grabbed the shot gun and the pair jogged out into the large, open expanse of the churchyard. Brett soon joined them,

"I heard voices…" He told them seriously.

Dean widened his eyes sarcastically,

"I'm not surprised…" He muttered,

Sam nodded,

"Yeah…us too…"

"And dead people!" Dean joked. Sam scowled,

"Dude!"

"Lola." Dean suddenly said quietly, staring out across through the darkness. The other two followed his gaze across the graveyard to the centre where a lone figure was walking amongst the headstones, "LOLA!" Dean cupped his mouth and yelled. He moved to step forwards but Brett grabbed his arm and pulled him back,

"Dean…wait." He said seriously. Lola stopped and turned though in the darkness they couldn't see her face, only a shadow of an oval where her features should be. Dean shook his arm free, glowering at Brett before charging through the graveyard as Lola continued to move through the yard until she came to a clearing beneath a tree, the moonlight reaching the small portion of grass. Dean stopped to watch as she seemed to begin to skip around in a circle, her hands outstretched as a light snow began to fall upon the village and it's surround fields. She continued to dance, spinning around and around, her laughter drifting across the church yard to the three men, who watched on, perplexed. Dean looked back at Sam who shrugged, "What's going on?" Brett whispered, "Do you think she's possessed?"

"But…she seems harmless…" Sam murmured.

Suddenly, as childish giggles joined Lola's laughter, echoing around the grave markers, Lola grabbed her head in pain and stumbled, prompting Dean to make a move. Brandishing his shot gun he ran through the aisles of stone towards her, sliding along the soft, damp ground on his jean-clad knees in time as she collapsed sideways into his arms. Her head lulled lazily on his shoulder as she coughed, a small spat of blood appearing in her palm,

"Hey…" He soothed, stroking her hair, "Lola…say something…"

"They said…" She trailed off, "They want me to play with them…" She mumbled dozily before coughing again, more violently this time, "They're so lonely…that's why they took the children…they want me to…"

"No." Dean insisted as he took her face between his palms, "Stay awake Lola." He continued calmly, "You're not going anywhere with them…SAM!" Dean yelled across the churchyard, "SAM! BURN THE BONES!"

"Burn the bones…" Sam mumbled, "RIGHT!" He yelled back, turning and running back to the graves, "Just one more to uncover…Brett…open the coffins!"

Brett did as he was told, using the tip of his spade to wedge open each of the fourteen coffins whilst Sam unearthed the fifteenth, digging furiously. Brett ran to his car, snatching up a large container of rock salt and a bottle of lighter fluid as Sam prised open the final coffin lid.

Within a few seconds, each corpse had been dusted with a heavy sprinkling of salt and fluid before both boys lit their lighters and began the arduous process of setting every grave alight.

As the two stood on, watching the burning pits, Sam suddenly remembered Dean and Lola, and without warning, sprinted to his brothers side, who remained sat on the soaking wet grass, his arms around the other hunter. Her eyes drifted open just as he arrived and smiling she gave him a little wave,

"Just in time, Sam…" She mumbled, weakly sitting up, holding her head slightly, "That was…" She trailed off, "They were so lonely…a spirit's never…never reached out to me like that before…they were all so sad."

Dean touched her shoulder gently and gave her a smile,

"We've sent them on now."

"We should burn the church." Brett said seriously, reaching down a hand to help Lola out of Dean's lap, "To stop a repeat."

Lola nodded,

"And then can we get out of here?"

"Sure…I was thinking…dinner?" He smirked. Lola looked at him for a second before nodding,

"Why not? You've proved yourself…" She joked as they wandered back to the church, leaving Sam and Dean to watch on in shock. Sam laughed bitterly,

"Nice to see he gets all the credit…" Sam muttered. Dean didn't answer, only looked at his shoes before letting out a sigh,

"At least we don't have to worry about seeing him again." He muttered as he began to trudge back to the church, "Once we're out of here, we'll be seeing the back of him."

Lola glanced over her shoulder, Brett's arm draped casually over it as she smiled,

"Thank you." She mouthed to the two brothers. Both nodded in response.

- - -

The next morning…

"It's been great working with you guys," Brett said honestly as he extended a hand to shake Sam and Dean's hands. As soon as Sam took the English man's hand, his mobile phone began to ring. He smiled and excused himself, taking his phone from his pocket, he frowned at the screen,

"Dean…it's Maggie…" He said before flipping his phone open and wandering off to answer it. Lola frowned at Dean,

"Who's Maggie?"

"It's a bit complicated…" Dean muttered, "I don't really wanna talk about her."

"Oh…" Lola's face softened before hugging him tightly, "Thanks for coming with me."

"Hey…no problem…you'll have plenty of time to thank me on the way home…" He laughed until he saw her smile falter slightly, "…won't you?"

"I'm not coming back with you guys."

"What? Why?" Dean asked, sounding a little hurt. Lola glanced over her shoulder to Brett who looked away awkwardly, "Oh…I get it…"

"Dean…please…" Lola begged as Dean turned to walk away, "I just…we'll meet again. I promise." She insisted, taking his shoulders gently in her hands, "I need to get away from everything for a little while. Bobby's looking after my truck…I'll give you a call when I'm back in the country."

"What, when you're done here?" He asked with a sneer, "When you get bored?"

"I'm not going to have this conversation with you, okay? Just know that…I care about you a lot, but I need to stay here for my own reasons. I'll give you a call sometime."

"Yeah…well…I won't hold my breath…" Dean remarked as Sam returned, looking pale, "What did she have to say for herself?" Dean asked,

"She needs our help." Sam said seriously, "We need to go."

Dean turned back to Lola, licking his lips in impatience,

"Well I guess I'll see you around then." He grumbled with a half-hearted shrug,

"I guess…" Lola replied, losing her interest, growing weary of Dean's frosty attitude. She turned to Sam and smiled, opening her arms, hugging him tightly, "See you Sam…"

"Are you not coming back with us?" Sam asked,

"No…not for awhile yet…" She admitted, "Call me if you need me." She whispered in his ear. He nodded, placing a kiss on her cheek,

"Bye Lola."

"Later guys." She said with a short wave as they turned to head for the bus stop to begin the long journey back home.


End file.
